The road ran past beautifully landscaped scenery. The grass on the ground was cut short and tall pine trees were scattered through the yard.
As they approached the house, Tara was aware that Reena watched for her reaction. After all, Tara had grown up living in trailers, never having a piece of land to call her own. Reena would know that the Runners were proud of their nomadic existence, but Tara sensed that the home she was about to visit might alter her perspective.
She was right. Perfectly nestled among the foliage, a large stone house stood proudly before them. A wide front porch wrapped around both sides of the front of the house. Porch swings hung on each end, and sharply carved stone stairs led down to a pebbled walkway that traveled out to greet the road. The house itself was several stories high with a large veranda off the third floor.
Tara studied the vantage point offered by the veranda, guessing that it enabled soldiers to survey the land and ensure its safety. Standing watch on that ledge was probably considered a significant achievement for Gothman warriors.
The two men on guard duty in the front yard walked to the car, and Reena slowed to a stop. “My apple pie as promised.” She smiled to the large man leaning over, peering through the car window. Tara remembered seeing him at Reena’s cabin the previous night. He had been one of the men looking for her.
“Who do you have here?” The man tossed a toothless smile at Tara. “I daresay his lordship will like this a mite bit more than your apple pie, he will.”
“She is my niece,” Reena said coolly. “Will you announce us or are you going to stand there with your jaw hanging?”
“How you’ve lived to be an old lady with that mouth of yours is a mystery to me.” The man snarled and stood up to speak into his walkntalk.
* * * * *
Reena knew how she’d lived to be an old lady. She was protected. Her one and only love had seen to that. She wasn’t sure if Lord Darius knew the history behind why his papa had declared her unavailable for a claim. He’d upheld his papa’s wishes though, and for that she was grateful.
She looked at the beautiful young woman sitting next to her in the car, whose sapphire eyes made her appear too wise for her winters. Tara was watching the guard speak to the lord through his walkntalk. Reena wondered if Tara had ever seen the Gothman communication device before. This was a young lady who digested and analyzed everything she saw, and Reena could see qualities of a natural-born leader in Tara. All the Gothman attire in Nuworld wouldn’t hide that quality in the lass.
Reena knew Lord Darius would claim Tara instantly. In fact, he might already have done so. A man didn’t always tell a woman immediately after he claimed her. She would find out soon enough. Tara would fight it, but Reena knew it had to happen. They were meant to be together. Tara could help Lord Darius realize his potential.
* * * * *
Tara struggled to hear what the guard said into his walkntalk, wondering to whom he might be speaking, but the car motor made it impossible to hear. She watched with fascination as the man held the black box to his mouth, and his thumb moved to press a button on the side when he spoke.
A minute or two passed before the man returned to the car window. “Pull your car over to the side, Reena.” The guard pointed to an area off to the left.
“Of all things I know where to park, I do.” Reena waved the guard away and drove her car to the side of the house.
“Grab the basket out of the backseat, child,” Reena instructed Tara as she stared toward the grand house. “You ever seen anything so magnificent?”
Tara reached for the basket then turned. “It looks so permanent.”
The front door opened and a lady about the same age as Reena walked out onto the front porch. “Reena, I’ll be, it’s so good to see you again, my friend.” The woman reached out and hugged Reena. “I daresay it takes the scare of a Runner intruder to bring you to my doors these days. What to think, I wonder.”
“I stay quite busy with the way this town is populating itself,” Reena said, and the two women laughed out loud.
“Ah, so here she is.” The woman took Tara’s chin in her hand and turned the girl’s head from side to side. She glanced sideways at Reena and then wrinkled her brow. “She’s the spitting image of you at her age, she is. And she’s your niece, you say? Well now, you’re definitely related, that much is true.”
Tara smiled politely and glanced at Reena. She thought she saw a worried look on the old woman’s face.
“I’m Hilda Bryton.”
The lady either didn’t notice the look on Reena’s face or didn’t pay attention to it. She was a large woman, taller than Reena. She wore a long loose frock flowing below her knees. Her silver-gray hair wrapped in a bun behind her head.
Tara pictured Hilda raising Darius and the young boy from the alley. She wondered how much influence the Gothman woman had in their upbringing, or had their papa controlled the way in which they were raised?
“My Lady,” Tara said quietly with her eyes lowered as she offered a slight curtsy.
“I’m sure you know how the gossip flies through this town. I had heard she was quite the beauty, but the words do her no justice, that’s for certain. You’ll be mighty proud of this one, won’t you?” Hilda patted Reena’s arm.
“I hadn’t seen her, myself, since she was a baby. Until this night past, of course. She’s the beauty, she is.”
“Ah, my manners, to entertain you on my porch, I am sure.” Hilda laughed and opened the front door wide. “Please, do come in for a visit. Reena, when have we last sat and had a good talk of the goings on, I’m sure I don’t remember.”
Tara followed the two old women into the house. She gasped as they entered the foyer and caught her first glance at the magnificent home. At that moment, she figured if someone were looking for a Runner in disguise they would have immediately suspected her because she couldn’t get over the vastness of this dwelling. Never before had she been inside such a structure. The most shelter she’d had from the elements throughout her life was the trailers Runners lived in while with their clan.
Tara wanted to run her hands along the walls. They had to be solid. This house had been built to stay right here on this land, never moving. Runners moved when the weather changed, when trade agreements improved in a different area, or when news of a dispute or challenge in another area came forth.
But not the people of Gothman.
They ignored Nuworld and focused only on themselves. And this house would be an excellent place to ignore the outside world. The arched ceilings allowed for a wide curving stairway to show all of its glory as it climbed in front of them to a second floor. Tara remembered seeing windows outside indicating more rooms on a third floor. She wondered where another staircase might be.
The hallway above could be seen from downstairs. Dark mahogany doors along the second floor hallway left Tara to imagine what might be on the other side of them. As they left the entryway and walked through two glass doors, Tara found herself in a large room with glossy wooden floors and a large area rug so thick she could feel her feet sink in it through the thin cotton material of her shoes.
This living room was as large as her entire trailer.
Beautifully carved wooden chairs had forest green cushions resting on them. There was a long sofa made out of the same dark green material. The wood on the tables on either side of the couch, as well as the oval one in front of it, were polished to the point that Tara could see her reflection in them. She almost did a double take at the strange-looking woman staring back. It wasn’t often she gazed at her own reflection, let alone without her headscarf.
“So, sit down and tell me all your goings on, if you will,” Hilda said.
Reena made herself comfortable in a tall, well-padded armchair. “Be a dear, Tara, and set the pie on the dining room table.” Reena pointed to the room adjoining the one they were in.
Tara placed the pie on a long wooden table and walked over to one of the long glass windows. She could see a sprawling, well-groomed yard and gardens, and heard the muffled voices of two men working in the yard. They appeared to be getting something out of an old flatbed pickup truck. The cab of the vehicle faced Tara, so she wasn’t able to see what it was they were trying to get off the bed.
Lord Darius walked across the yard toward the truck. Her gaze followed his every move. His long stride and tall features sent a warm sensation through Tara’s body, and her stomach flip-flopped. It had been a long time since she’d seen a man so striking.
Her attention shifted from him to the truck.
The men struggled to lift something from the bed and set it on the ground—her motorcycle!
Tara groaned. They probably couldn’t start it, since it was coded, but they’d found it and brought it here. A lot of good it was going to do her if it was stuck up here! She watched the men lift the bike and carry it to a shed before she turned to join the women. Those solid stone walls seemed to close in around her, trapping her and preventing her escape.
“Enjoying the scenery of my backyard, are you girl?” Hilda let out a deep chortle.
The men continued hollering instructions to each other, and their muffled sounds proved a disturbing distraction.
“I daresay it’s my son you’d be admiring.” She looked through the hallway at Tara and then turned to Reena. “They would make the most handsome claim in all the Gothman nation. Can you imagine, we would be sisters for real, you and me?”
“Just think of those gorgeous grandchildren to show off.” Reena clasped her hands together as if it had just been finalized.
Tara glared at the two women as she joined them in the living room and sat on the end of the couch. Her future was ready and waiting for her. She had worked hard to deserve title of heir to rule all Runner clans, and no one would take that from her. Especially two scheming old women with nothing better to do than play mate-maker with two people who were strangers to each other.
The two women continued to chatter endlessly, talking about whatever came to their minds and laughing at each comment that was made.
Tara blocked out their conversation as she thought of her own predicament. For the time being, she was stranded. She hadn’t given any thought to leaving in the near future, but now she couldn’t if she wanted to, unless she revealed her identity and stole a Gothman motorcycle.
Tara didn’t want to leave, she wanted to stay and learn about these people. But having the option of departing taken from her was annoying. An image of Darius appeared in her mind. She imagined how smug he must have felt to have found her bike, and Tara knew at that moment that she would get it back. She would not let Darius best her.
The men sounded like they were arguing outside, but try as she might she could not figure out what they were saying over the women’s voices, or through the blasted thick Gothman walls. She finally gave up and turned her attention back to the women.
“So, you’ll be staying for lunch then.” Hilda smiled and got up. “I’ve some cold ham for sandwiches, boiled new potatoes and cheese rolls. That pie will go along famously, it will.”
Reena and Hilda left the living room and walked through the dining room and back toward the kitchen.
Tara followed, noticing that the men were no longer in the backyard as she passed the large dining room windows.
“I had a girl to help with the house for a time. But Lord Darius didn’t take a liking to her and sent her back to her parents. I will say this big house is too much for an old lady to manage, that much is certain.” Hilda winked at Reena.
“I know what you’re saying, I do at that,” Reena sympathized. “My hands wear out long before the housework does these days I’m afraid. I’ve a liniment you might try. It does take the sting out.”
“Tara, be a dear and go cut some of those flowers out back in the garden, will you?” Hilda opened a drawer and pulled out gloves and clippers. “Take these…ah…there you are. Use caution, girl. The thorns can bring blood faster than you may think, it’s true.”
* * * * *
Hilda watched Tara pass through the back doorway with deft agility. Never had she seen anyone move as Reena’s niece did. It was as if the girl were one with the ground she stepped across. Quite captivating…and, it was more than outer beauty. There was something in the girl’s eyes. She couldn’t quite place it, but the girl seemed to put everything she saw and heard to memory. And Tara didn’t look like one to forget.
* * * * *
Gloves and clippers in hand, Tara entered the backyard. There was no sign of the men, so she turned her attention to the different rose varieties growing bountifully along the side yard. She walked over to the flowerbeds and knelt so she could inhale their strong fragrance. She chose some yellow and white roses and began to cut the stems. Footsteps behind her alerted all her senses, and she jerked to a stand as she turned.
“Ah, lass, no reason to be so jumpy. I won’t hurt you.” A tall man with thick curly blond hair stood before her. He smiled and let his eyes roam over her body. His looks were less than appealing, and the grin on his face put Tara on her guard. “It’s a mite bit strange to me that a lass as pretty as you hasn’t been claimed. You’re too pretty to be keeping to yourself.” The man approached her, his hands open, palms up, in front of him.
Tara held the clippers out defensively.
“Now, that ain’t fair. I just said I wasn’t going to hurt you none, and here you are ready to hurt me. I daresay you’re a wild one.” The man laughed and started to grab the clippers from Tara.